Mind Over Matter
by violetta09
Summary: When ex-Hydra captive Valerie Gaillard decided to use her powers to help save Pietro Maximoff, she never dreamed of the whirlwind of consequences it would ensue. Finding her place within the ranks of the Avengers, Valerie faces the team's latest mission: capturing Bucky Barnes. But what will happen when Hydra discovers her whereabouts and threatens her new friends? Pietro x OFC
1. Prologue

"It's been a long day."

The quiet statement caught the attention of a girl who looked up from the floor where she was sitting. Amidst the coughing and crying and talking of all the people on the aircraft, she heard the man's quiet mumble. Her eyes, so blue that they sometimes even looked violet, traveled across the man who had spoken those words. He laid with eyes closed across a row of seats, hands tightly clutching his bow. Her eyes trailed down to the floor, and drifted across the body of another man, or should she say boy, as he looked so young and peaceful with his eyes closed and his body slack. His serene face, angelic she would even say, contradicted the monstrous sight of his bullet ridden body. The girl knew the look on the boy's face all too well. It was the look Death bestowed on the ones he decided to take. The kind of peace that didn't exist in life. Strangely fascinated, the girl got up and moved across the floor until she was sitting next to the boy.

For a moment, she just stared, taking in his white-blond hair and tranquil expression. Her silent gazing was interrupted by a voice.

"He's gone."

The girl looked up, and her eyes met the ones of the man she had heard and seen earlier. The man with the bow. She studied him further up close. His eyes were blank with grief, in a way that she wondered if he was even really seeing her. His shoulders drooped with exhaustion. She closed her eyes and cursed herself mentally, as she knew what she was about to do. The familiar feeling of empathy and guilt was washing through her, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to help herself. She looked back down at the boy on the floor. Without looking back up, she spoke.

"I can help him."

She placed her hands on the blond-haired boy's chest, and she closed her eyes as a feeling of warmth flowed through her entire body to her hands. They began to glow a soft, warm gold. The man with the bow sat up, and watched the girl with wide eyes as she began to quietly chant something that seemed almost melodic, but he couldn't be sure since her quiet voice was lost in the clatter of everyone else in the aircraft. The body of the boy started glowing too, and as the man watched with his very eyes, the gruesome bullet holes that once filled the boy's body began to disappear one by one.

The girl was starting to feel jolts of pain run through her body, and her hands felt like they were on fire, but she couldn't stop. She opened her eyes and saw that it was almost complete; that she was close. She paid no attention to the man who sat in front of her, who was still staring in awe as her entire body started glowing. The pain was starting to be too much now. The girl started to see spots at the edge of her vision and she could feel blood trickling out of her nose. But at the same time, she started to feel a beat start up. Shaky and stuttery at first, but as she continued, the familiar thrum of the boy's heart began to fall into rhythm beneath her hands. She thought she heard a voice that seemed very, very fall away call for her to stop but she ignored it. Success was so close she could almost taste it. With that, she gritted her teeth and let out a final surge of energy.

Then she let go, and everything seemed very still for a moment. The only thing she could hear was the thump and thud of her heartbeat. She stared at the body of the boy. A dizzying blackness was starting to fill her mind.

Suddenly the boy let out a cough and a gasp, and a pair of dark blue eyes flashed open. The girl smiled. With her task complete, she let herself slip into darkness as she collapsed.


	2. Chapter 1

Voices.

Voices were cutting through Valerie Gaillard's mind. They were breaking apart the fuzzy blackness that was enveloping her head and were gradually pulling her into consciousness. Slowly, she began to understand some of the things that were being said.

"... back from the dead, Barton. We don't want to play with this kind of power. We can't control it….it's deadly…."

"I have told you, I cannot see what she is thinking! You have to trust me, I am trying..."

"..stay here until she recovers.."

"No history or family…"

Valerie held very still and kept her eyes shut. One thing she had learned is to never let others know when you were awake. People said all sorts of important things when they believed a person to be asleep. She couldn't tell how long she had been lying there. Her only method of measuring time was through the amount of people going in and out of her room. After the 50th time some person left her room, Valerie decided that it was time to "wake up". Her body felt stiff and her legs were cramping. Also, she was bored.

Opening her eyes, she quickly surveyed her surroundings. She was in a small, cubic room and was hooked up through a variety of tubes and needles to a fancy looking machine. Her blood started to run cold. Images of the past began to resurface in her mind, as flashes of the myriad of tubes and needles that had been connected to her in the facility began to race through her head. Valerie sat up and began to try and pull out the needles as quickly as she could. She cursed under her breath when she realized that her body hurt all over and her head started spinning faster than a top from the small movements. She wasn't too worried, however. She knew her body would start healing itself and she would be fine in less than a minute.

The door of her room suddenly opened. Valerie froze. She had expected nothing less. She knew that they would notice the moment she showed any signs of being awake. A man walked in. Tall. Blonde. He was attractive, the kind of old-fashioned handsome that you could imagine seeing in dusty old polaroid photographs that provided a glimpse into the dated past. He was wearing basic, modern clothing however: a grey v-neck shirt and blue jeans. His expression and body language was cautious, it reminded Valerie of someone who was trying not to scare away an injured animal. "Ma'am I'm glad you're awake." He spoke calmly and formally. "How are you feeling? You've been out for quite a few days."

"I feel fine," Valerie replied, which was the truth. The ache in her body and the spinning in her head were gone now. She decided the best thing to do now was to stay calm and not let anything slip up. Realizing her voice was very raspy, she cleared her throat and repeated, "I'm fine. However, I'd like to know where I am."

"Of course," The man said, and he took a seat on one of the chairs next to her bed. "There's a lot that needs to explained, both on my part and yours. For starters, my name is Steve Rogers." He paused and waited, and Valerie realized he was waiting for her to introduce herself.  
"Valerie." He reached out a hand, and Valerie shook it.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Valerie. To answer your previous question, you are currently in the Avengers Tower in New York City. You passed out on the aircraft that had been evacuating Sokovian citizens, and you've been out for three days. I-"

"Wait, wait," Valerie cut in. "You said I'm in the _Avengers_ Tower?" A milltion thoughts began racing through her head. _Avengers._ The name she had heard spoken so many times n the facility-the Hydra facility. The Avengers and SHIELD had always been the enemies in Hydra's eyes-the bad guys-and that had been what Valerie was taught. But now that she knew what Hydra truly was, it wasn't like she could believe anything she had been told anymore. She stared at Steve, not sure what to think.

"Yes, this is the Avengers Tower. Maybe you've heard of us? We brought you here because of something-" He paused for a second, seeming to struggle with finding the correct word, "-extraordinary one of our agents saw you do in the hovercraft from Sokovia." he finished.

"I was just trying to help," Valerie began to panic. What was this place? Was it somewhere like the Hydra facility? _They know about my powers, they probably know everything about me!_ _But why is this man being so kind? What are they trying to play at?_ She knew that she shouldn't have saved that boy on the aircraft. Her stupid compassion always fucked her over, but somehow she was never able to let go of it.

"I think I need to leave. Thank you for letting me stay here, but I need to go, I-" She began to pull at the needles that were connected to her once again and the straps that held her in the bed. "I shouldn't be here, I don't know what I was thinking…"

"Wait, wait!" Steve said. "I promise that we won't hurt you, we want to help you!"

Valerie paused for a moment and looked back up at him with sad eyes. "I want to trust you, Steve, you don't know how much I do. But your promises mean nothing to me. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that lies can be told just as easily as the truth. So thank you, but I need to leave now."

With that, Valerie ripped out the remaining needles, untied herself from the bed, and flipped off all in one fluid movement. She bolted straight for the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steve get up and try to grab her, and out of instinct she threw up a force field. Valerie felt him collide with it and stumbled back. She let out a hiss of frustration. She hadn't meant to use her ability. She had basically just shouted for all the world to hear that she was a mutant. But there was no point turning back now. Valerie lowered the shield just long enough for her to slide out of the door, then put back the bubble of energy as soon as she was in the hallway. Looking left and right, she realized that both sides looked the same, so she just started running towards the right. A horde of men, they looked like agents, stormed out from a door to her left, but Valerie paid them no mind. Her literal bubble of protection forged a path through them as she sprinted down the long corridor. There was a window in front of her. Judging from the view of the adjacent building, Valerie concluded that she was probably 40 floors up. Valerie sped up and prepared herself to smash through the window, praying that the damage she would have to endure would be minima. However just as she was about to crash through, a silver-blue blur popped up in the corner of her eye, and suddenly, standing in between of herself and the window was another man. Tall, with white-blond hair and familiar dark blue eyes.

Valerie skidded to a stop out of pure surprise. It was the boy she had saved on the aircraft. And he was standing right in front of her, with hands held up and eyes wide.

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked, her voice coming out higher than she wanted due to her shock.

"I live here," came the accented reply of the boy. He smirked. "And also I'm trying to keep you from doing something stupid. You do know we are 50 levels up, yes? Were you really thinking to jump down? You would've ended up a bloody mess on the ground that I would probably have to clean up."

"I would not have died," scoffed Valerie. Secretly, however, she was intrigued and surprised. He lived in this tower? He was an Avenger? He had powers like her? She had had no clue when she was saving his life. Valerie mentally scolded herself. What are you doing Valerie? Why are you so obsessed with this boy? He doesn't matter, all you did was save his life, you've saved tons of people's' lives. Get him out from under your skin!

Snapping back into reality, Valerie realized that the boy was talking again. "Well, why should I believe you? After all, weren't you the one that said 'everyone in this world lies'?" Valerie narrowed her eyes. The boy flashed a grin.

"My name is Pietro. Pietro Maximoff. And I believe I owe you a thank you for saving my life."

"It was no big deal," Valerie replied. She just wanted to leave. She knew that with every passing second she was spending talking to this boy, Pietro, Steve was probably getting more and more people to try and capture her.

"Oh come on, where are you off to in such a hurry? Don't tell me that Steve scared you off?" Valerie rolled her eyes to hide the small smile that was creeping up. The boy was interesting, that was for a fact. And his accent was...charming. But she still kept her guard up.

"Pietro, if you really want to thank me, you'll get your nose out of my business and let me leave. I saved you once, but twice? That's pushing it. I'll kick your ass right here and now."

"You going to do that with that giant force field up?" Pietro replied. "Nobody likes a cheater."

Valerie was never one to back down from a fight. It was probably her greatest weakness, second only to her compassion. She regretted her decision the instant she let down her force field and lunged at the boy. She had just knocked him over when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind. The familiar prick of a needle pierced her neck, followed by the icy sensation as the medicine entered her bloodstream. Suddenly everything was very blurry. Valerie collapsed, and she felt her head hit Pietro's chest as everything went black again.

* * *

That concludes the first chapter of Mind over Matter! Please feel free to leave a review, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, or just tell me what you liked/didn't like :) Next chapter should be up in a couple days, so see you then!

xx Violet


	3. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2 of Mind over Matter! Enjoy, and please review!**

* * *

When Valerie woke up again, the first thing she saw was Steve, sitting neatly in exactly the same seat where he had been the first time. _Ugh. This is all very deja-vu,_ she thought to herself. He was reading a book, an old one, judging by the outdated cover art. She was just about to close her eyes again so that she could consider her options when Steve suddenly looked up, seeming to have sensed the fact that she was awake.

 _Dammit_ , she thought, as she Steve snapped his book closed.

"What happened?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

Steve scooted closer to her, hands up. "Please don't run again. Just hear me out, alright? Please?"

Valerie sighed. "Okay, talk."

Steve's eyes lit up. "Look Valerie, we've seen your incredible displays of your special ability. We want you to join the Avengers. We can help you harness your powers and use them to help people all over the world. The team is filled with people who are all gifted like you are. If you join us, we will welcome you into our family. Please at least consider this opportunity. We would be so honored if you joined us."

 _Help people all over the world_. That's all Valerie had wanted ever since she was a child and found out about her abilities. A fuzzy, distant memory drifted into her head. It was of her mother, wearing a yellow sundress, smiling down at her. "This is a gift, Val. You are gifted with the ability to help people, to save people. Promise me that you will do that."

She had promised.

But look where her promise caused her to end up. She had let Hydra experiment on her because they had promised that they could help her better understand her powers, the exact same thing that these people were now promising her. They had told her that they might even be able to enhance them. She started shaking as she began thinking of the facility, and shook herself out of it.

She looked up and stared into Steve's eyes. They were hopeful, they were pure. As much as Valerie wanted to join these so called Avengers, as much as she liked Steve and Pietro, she couldn't muster up the strength to say yes. The fear of it all ending up just like last time with Hydra kept her silent. She couldn't go all that again. She would rather die. Valerie realized that she had been quiet for a long time, and that Steve was still staring at her, waiting for her response. She felt the pressure cause her stomach to curl. What if after joining them they turned out to be just like Hydra? Did she really escape one organization just to join another? They could just be two heads of the same monster.

She really only had two options, and neither of them were exactly desirable. Hydra would never stop looking for her; she knew that her powers were too valuable to them to just let go. It would only be a matter of time before they ultimately found her. Even if she did manage to escape, which she highly doubted considering since they would likely be expecting her to make a run for it again and would be much better prepared this time, what would she do? Where would she go? She had no money, no friends, she didn't even know the first thing about New York City. She could either wander around the city, begging for food and money until Hydra found her, or she could join these Avengers and risk being further experimented on. As Valerie studied Steve's face, she had to admit they didn't exactly seem bad. A picture of Pietro's laughing blue eyes suddenly came into her mind. He was a good kid, and Steve had been so polite and kind with her. If these Avengers really were enemies with Hydra, the most dreadful and terrible organization out there, it had to at least mean that they would try and keep her safe from them, right?

"I understand that this is a huge decision, and that it is kind of coming from out of the blue," Steve starts, shaking Valerie out of her thoughts. "You can take as much time as you need to think it through. You're more than welcome to stay in the tower as you decide. If you need to call family or anything to let them know that you're okay or anything just ask. I'll check in on you every day."

Valerie felt like he had just stabbed her in the stomach with a knife and twisted it. Call family to let them know you're okay. What a fucking joke. Tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes, so she lowered her head and just nodded, not trusting her voice at the current moment.

"I'll leave you to think about this. If you need me at any time, just press the button on the wall." Steve said as he got up.

"Wait," Valerie rasped. Steve turned back with a hopeful look in his eyes. Valerie took a deep breath and swallowed. "I'll do it. I'll join you guys."

Steve's eyes immediately lit up. "Are you sure?"

Valerie nodded.

Steve grinned. "You won't regret this, Valerie. I promise you'll love it here." He walked over to her to start unstrapping her from the bed, but suddenly stopped and frowned.

"What is it?" Valerie asked, stiffening.

"I just want you to know that we're not trying to force you to join us. If you really don't want to, we'll let you go, we can even fly you back to Sokovia or wherever you want." Steve said slowly, reading her expression.

Valerie rolled her eyes but cracked a smile. "Sure, that's why I'm strapped down into this bed with probably a whole army of security outside the door, right?"

Steve smiled back wryly. "I'm sorry, but the truth is we just didn't want you to get hurt or end up in the wrong hands. Your powers are truly amazing, Valerie, and until we let Bruce do tests we don't even know the extent of them. If the wrong people got a hold of that power…" he trailed off, and all Valerie could think of was, they already have, but she wasn't about to tell Steve that yet.

"I'm sure," Valerie assured. "I don't really have anywhere better to go anyways," she added honestly.

"But now that you've agreed, with can let you out of here and into your permanent room then."

"Yeah, anything that lets me get out of this thing would be great," Valerie grunted, tugging at the thick leather straps that held her down to the hospital bed.  
As Steve started undoing the straps, for a split second, Valerie considered bashing her head against his and making a run for it again. Then, she reminded herself of everything she had just considered and how nothing good could come from her escaping. Steve held out a hand to help her out of the bed, which she took, and she hopped onto the floor. For the first time, she noticed that all she was wearing was a white hospital gown. Steve noticed her staring at her outfit and looked at her apologetically.

"Once we get you to your room you can shower and change into normal clothes there." Steve said as he led her out of the room and into the long corridor. They reached an elevator at the end of the hall, and Steve pressed the 55th floor. "The 55th floor is strictly residential," Steve explained as the elevator began to ascend. "All of us live there, in separate rooms of course." Since it was only five floors up, they reached it in a matter of seconds, and as Valerie stepped out of the elevator, she took in her surroundings in awe. The main room was furnished in incredibly modern and technological fittings. There was a kitchen to the right, and a living room to the left, if she could even call it that. A holographic television and large white leather couches decorated the room. There was a lot of black, white, and blue lighting, giving the place an even more futuristic look.

"Pretty cool, isn't it," Steve said with a grin, snapping Valerie back from her gawking. "Tony, who you'll meet in a little bit, designed the whole thing. Just wait until you see your room." He led her back into a long hallway, with sleek silver doors along each side. "These are where all of our rooms are is this one." He pointed to the one labeled 5506. He pressed a button on the side and the door slid open.

 _I guess good old fashioned doorknobs aren't good enough for this place,_ Valerie silently mused, but her though was cut short and her eyes widened as the room revealed itself. It was big and elaborate, with Valerie having anticipated nothing less after seeing the main room. It was decorated with a lot of silver, giving everything a sleek, modern edge. The front room had a large couch and a desk, complete with an incredibly high-tech looking computer that she was sure she wouldn't know how to use. Behind, the bedroom was furnished with an enormous king sized bed, and the wall that it was against was all purely window, providing a breath-taking view of the city as well as a lot of natural light. As Valerie gazed on in wonder, she couldn't help but think that this couldn't be more different from the cold cubic rooms that she had been assigned at the Hydra facility.

"I'll leave you to get settled in, then," Steve said. "You can find clothes in the closet over there," he nodded to a door that Valerie guessed led to the closet. "This," he added, picking up a sleek black tablet from her table, "controls basically everything in this room. You can use it to call me if you need anything, close the blinds, order food, or just play games or watch movies. I'll come back in a few hours to introduce you to the rest of the team, sound good?"

"Yeah, good," Valerie said, still marveling over the room. She didn't even hear Steve chuckle as he left the room and closed the door behind him. She sat at the foot of the plush bed and put her hands on her face, wondering if this was really real. If it all turned out to be a dream, she would be asked to be placed in a coma so that this could last forever. Was this finally her chance to make up for everything she had done before? Her chance to finally use her powers for good instead of evil? Valerie couldn't help but smile as she got up. She didn't know what to expect ahead, but she was excited to find out.

* * *

Two hours later, Valerie felt like a new person. The first thing she had done was take a shower, wanting to rid her body of the smoke and sweat and dirt that still remained from Sokovia. The shower, however, was like none she'd ever seen, with a screen on the side with just about a million different buttons that controlled varying degrees of water temperature, pressure, and placement, as well as scents and textures of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. After pressing random buttons for a good half hour, she finally felt like she had a hang of it, though not before getting doused with icy cold water, smothered in bubblegum smelling shower gel, and pummeled by water with pressure so high she felt like she was getting hit with a ton of bricks.

After the shower, Valerie had focused on her next great task, which was finding something to wear. Following Steve's directions, she had gone to the door he had pointed out and opened it, expecting to find some generic t-shirts or maybe even just more hospital gowns. At the Hydra facility, all she had been given the same cloth pants and shirt as every other initiate they had. But what the closet turned out to be was an experience much like the one she had just had in the shower. There had to be thousands of articles of clothing in the room, as well as a screen that could even help you come up with outfits that matched your complexion, body, and preference. In the end, Valerie decided on a simple white v-neck t-shirt, ripped black jeans, and black boots. She couldn't help but admire how the neutral colors played up her blonde hair and purple eyes. Looking at her outfit she was hit with a wave of nostalgia, knowing that if she had never gone with Hydra and was still living in Paris with her parents, she probably would have picked out an outfit like this to go to school in too. The thought of her parents suddenly sent a pain that felt as sharp as a knife into her gut, and she quickly shoved the thoughts and memories away, locking them up in a drawer in her mind. She decided that she needed a means to distract herself until Steve came, and decided to check out the tablet he had mentioned earlier, wondering if there would be any films she knew on there.

Before she was able to make a decision, however, a knock came at her door.

"Come in!" Valerie called, as she sat up and put the tablet away. Steve poked his head through the doorway.

"How are you doing?" he asked, walking into the room.

Valerie hopped off of the bed. "Much better now after a much needed shower."

Steve laughed. "Are you ready to go meet the rest of the team? They haven't stopped babbling about meeting you since I told them you had agreed to join us."

Valerie gulped. The thought of meeting the rest of the Avengers had somehow slipped her mind, and she suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. Would they accept her and her powers? She recalled Steve saying that everyone on the team was "gifted" like she was. Did that mean they all had amazing powers as well? Steve and Pietro both seemed alright, so she could only hope that the rest of them were as kind as they were. She realized the only way to find out was to meet them.

"Let's do it," Valerie said, and she followed Steve out, bracing herself for what was to come.

* * *

 **Hehehe...a little cliffhanger for you guys. And it's not just because I'm evil, I promise. Valerie's meeting with the Avengers is taking longer than I thought to write since I'm trying to keep the characters from being OOC.**

 **Anyways, it would really make my day if you left me a review-it doesn't have to be "good" too. If there was something you didn't like, tell me and I'll do my best to improve! Thanks for reading!**

 **xx Violet**


	4. Chapter 3

**I promised a few readers that I would have this chapter up on Monday, but when I was re-reading it before uploading it there were a few parts I wasn't satisfied with so I held back on uploading until I fixed them up, hope you guys can understand :)**

 **Also, another thing. I know this is a Pietro x OFC fic, but there won't be tons and tons of fluff etc, mainly because this story actually has kind of a main plot and so while they're going to get together and stuff, the main point of this story isn't just them being cute and coupley together. I hope that made some sense lol. Anyways, enjoy this next chapter, and leave a review if you want :D**

* * *

Valerie tugged nervously at one of the loose threads in her ripped jeans as she followed Steve into the main living room. Steve, sensing her anxiety, gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't worry, Valerie. They're all dying to meet you, and while they can be irritating at times, everyone's nice and friendly and we all get along well at the end of the day."

Valerie forced a smile back at him, though in reality her stomach was still doing somersaults. They reached the living room that she had seen earlier, and she took in the sight of all the people occupying it now. They were talking amongst one another, and didn't immediately notice when she and Steve entered the room. Valerie spotted Pietro talking enthusiastically to a girl with dark brown hair, and she couldn't help but feel a strange twinge at the sight of them. She wondered if she was his girlfriend, but the thought quickly flitted away as Steve began to speak.

"Guys!" Steve called, drawing the attention to them. "This is Valerie, the newest member of the Avengers!"

All eyes turned to Valerie, and she stiffened under their scrutiny. Some of them gazed at her with slight wariness, though the majority were smiling. She gave a nervous wave.

"Hello," she said hesitantly.

The brunette who she had seen talking to Pietro was the first to come up to her. She threw Valerie into a hug.

"Thank you so much for saving my brother," she said emotionally as she pulled away, gazing intensely into Valerie's eyes. "I don't know what I would have done if you'd never been there." She grabbed Valerie's hands. "I will never be able to repay you for what you did, but I just hope you know how thankful I am to you."

Valerie couldn't help but notice a flash of red in her grey-green eyes, but when she blinked and looked again, it was gone.

"Don't worry about it," Valerie said with a nervous laugh, slightly overwhelmed by the girl's friendliness.

"Spare her the hysterics, Wanda, and stop looking into her head." Pietro said as he came up next to her. "Look at her, she thinks you're creepy." He gave Valerie a knowing smirk.

"He is right, I'm sorry," Wanda said, flustered, giving Valerie an apologetic look. "I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Wanda Maximoff, Pietro's twin sister."

"It's nice to meet you both," Valerie said sincerely, though Pietro was right. She was slightly creeped out by the fact that Pietro had said that Wanda had been looking into her head. Was that her ability-reading minds? She saw Pietro smirk again at her and she narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong with you?" she sniffed.

"Nothing," he chuckled. "It's just your accent is funny." He gave her a wink and Valerie could feel her cheeks heating up.

"I could say the same for you-" she began, but was cut off before she could finish.

"It's not nice to hog the new girl you know," a voice said from behind her, and Valerie turned around to see who it belonged to.

"Tony Stark," the man said, reaching out a hand to Valerie, which she shook. "Steve there was telling me how much you liked your room." He gave a nonchalant shrug. "I'm not one to brag, but I am the one who designed this tower from the ground up." Valerie stared at him in wonder, but before she could say anything she was cut off again by another voice.

"He's lying, bragging is his favorite hobby." A man grinned and slapped Tony on the back good naturedly.

"Way to ruin my fun, Barton," Tony muttered.

"I'm Clint Barton," the man introduced himself with a smile as he turned to Valerie, and she suddenly recognized him as the man on the aircraft who had watched her perform her powers on Pietro. "You just wait," he said, leaning in closer with eyes glinting as he nodded towards Pietro, "Sooner or later you're going to regret having brought that one back."

"I heard that, old man," Pietro muttered as he shot him a glare, but Valerie could tell that they were just playing.

"They're all just a bunch of little boys disguised as men," huffed a woman next to her as she watched their exchange. She met Valerie's eyes and gave her a cautious smile.

"Natasha Romanoff, but you can just call me Nat," she said. "That's Bruce," she nodded towards an older man with glasses who gave her a wave, "And the red guy's Vision." Valerie blinked as she looked in the direction Nat was looking at and her eyes widened as she saw a red humanoid body approach her.

"Greetings, Valerie," it said politely, taking Valerie by surprise. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Y-yes, you too," Valerie stuttered, still taking in his form.

"Ah, don't let Vision bug you out, he's just like any of us," Tony said as he walked up. "Minus the part that he's kind of an android, but you'll get over it."

Valerie laughed genuinely. "I'm sure I will." She turned to Vision. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to be rude, I was just surprised, that's all."

"No worries Ms. Valerie I'm used to it," the Vision replied with a shrug.

"Well that's just about all of us," Steve said as he approached Valerie. "There's a few others, like Thor, who's in a different realm at this moment-"

"Different realm?" Valerie asked curiously. "It's a long story," Steve began, looking around at the others though no one stepped in to explain, "But basically he's kind of a god. And there's Rhodes and Wilson, but they're not in right now so you'll meet them later. Oh, and Valerie?" He added, pausing to grin at her.

"What?" Valerie asked, looking around.

"Welcome to the Avengers."

* * *

That night, Valerie was curled up on the couch in her room. She had been planning to watch a movie before going to sleep, but her thoughts had taken over and now she stared blankly at the television screen. Amélie was running, though it was currently serving simply as background noise. After her introduction with the rest of the team, Bruce had requested to do some tests on her to get a better knowledge about her abilities. Though Valerie had been hesitant, she ultimately agreed, and had been pleasantly surprised to find that the most painful thing Bruce had done during the tests was draw a bit of blood. The experience had brought back a lot of painful memories from her time with Hydra, however, and she had been able to control her shuddering and sweating. Bruce of course, had been distraught, and flitted anxiously around her, promising her that one more test was all he needed and that he didn't mean to harm her, despite the fact that she had reassured him a million times that she was fine and it wasn't his tests that were causing her pain.

Still, Valerie had been relieved when they were over. Though everyone had been extremely kind to her, she had still felt slightly overwhelmed and had retreated back to her room immediately after her tests and hadn't left since. Valerie had never been the extremely outgoing type, and considering what had happened the last time she had joined an organization like this she cut herself some slack. She was just getting ready to head to bed when she heard a knock on her door.

"It's open," she called, and the door slid open.

"Oh, hi," she said, blinking in surprise when she saw that it was Pietro and Wanda who were standing at the door.

"Hi, mind if we come in?" Wanda asked.

"Sure," she said, and they stepped into the room. Valerie scooted over on the couch and the twins flopped down next to her.

"We just wanted to see how you were doing. We've all noticed that you haven't left your room since the tests Bruce ran earlier." Wanda began.

"Oh, I'm fine really," Valerie reassured her quickly, but Pietro shot her a look that told her that he didn't believe her one bit, and she sighed. "It's just been a lot to take in." she said honestly. "Everyone's been so gracious and kind to me, but the whole thing's been really overwhelming. I wake up and all of a sudden I'm in a city halfway across the world from where I was when I passed out, and I'm surrounded by people I don't know who suddenly want to recruit me into some superhuman program."

Wanda's eyes softened sympathetically. "I understand what you're feeling, Pietro and I both," she said, and Valerie looked at them, puzzled.

"We only just joined the Avengers as well, and we came to this tower and New York for the first time with you." Pietro said. He paused for a second and he glanced at Wanda. They seemed to be communicating with their eyes, and their exchange didn't go unnoticed by Valerie. "Before that we were working for Hydra." Pietro continued, and Valerie's eyes widened with shock but she held silent and let him continue. "We always thought that the Avengers were the bad guys, because they destroyed our city and killed our friends and our family. We let Hydra experiment on us to give us super powers so that we could avenge those we'd lost."

"But we were wrong," Wanda continued, gazing blankly at television running. "The Avengers were trying to help us all along. We were so blinded by vengeance and hate towards them we almost assisted in the annihilation of Sokovia, and much of the world." She turned to Valerie and held her eyes in her own burning gaze. "We understand how you feel, Valerie, because we are feeling very much the same. A few days ago, we wanted to kill every last member of these Avengers, but now we are learning to see them as our friends, our family."

Valerie's mind was running a million miles a minute as she tried to process what the twins were saying. She couldn't believe that they both had been experimented on by Hydra as well. She was just about to open her mouth to admit to them her own story and how she had also worked for Hydra, but Pietro beat her to it.

"We know you come from similar circumstances, Valerie." Pietro said softly. Valerie suddenly felt suspicion flare up.

"How do you know that?" she hissed, bristling.

"Steve told us earlier," Wanda explained quickly, seeing Valerie's unease. "They can find out just about anything about anyone here. He said that it took a lot to find your files though. Hydra must have really wanted to keep you off the radar."

Valerie nodded slowly as she relaxed. "It was really bad," she said quietly, not meeting either of their eyes. "Hydra knew that with my kind of powers on their side they could easily wipe out the majority of their enemies. But when I first got there my force fields were weak and the most I could heal were small cuts and scrapes. That's why they started putting me through hours of experiments and training, to try and amplify my powers and turn me into some kind of super machine... " Valerie trailed off as she shut her eyes, trying her best to block out the painful memories.

Pietro and Wanda looked at each other before looking at Valerie. "What's important is that we're out of there and we're here now, yes?" Pietro added, grinning slightly. Valerie realized that he was trying to cheer her up.

"Right," Valerie said, shaking off the memories and focusing on the pair of twins in front of her.

"It really is amazing, isn't it." Pietro sighed, switching the topic.

"What is?" Valerie asked, looking at him in confusion.

"This," he stated simply, motioning to the room around them. "Wanda and I, we've spent our whole lives in Sokovia. Everything here-this tower, this city-it just feels like a dream, and when I wake up I'll be right back in Sokovia."

"It's pretty incredible." Valerie agreed, and she recounted her experience with the high-tech shower to the twins and they all shared some laughs. The dark cloud that was their past had blown over, and for the rest of the night the three talked about light, safe topics like favorite books and foods and hobbies, carefully avoiding any talk of the portion of their lives that they had lost to their time with Hydra. Valerie would be lying if she said that she hadn't genuinely enjoyed spending time with the twins. Valerie felt happy for the first time in a long time, and sang softly to herself in the shower after they had reluctantly left, which was well into the early hours of the night, grumbling about something along the lines of training. When she finally crawled into bed, however, even the happy moments she had just shared with her new friends weren't enough to keep the nightmares at bay.

* * *

 _It was always the same dream. Valerie was in a dark room with her mother, father, and the Hydra scientist who had done the majority of the experiments on her during her time at the facility. Two shots rang in her ears as her mother and father were both hit clean in the chest. Valerie screamed, and she ran forward, pushing the scientist out of the way and crumbling down next to them. As they lay dying in her arms, Valerie tried to use her powers to save them, but for some reason her powers failed to work. No matter how hard she tried, nothing happened and she couldn't save them. All she could do was cry as she watched the light leave their eyes._

 _"You killed them," a voice said from behind, and Valerie whipped around to see the scientist staring at her coldly. "They didn't have to die, why didn't you save them?"_

 _"I didn't-, I was trying-," Valerie stuttered through her tears as she looked back at the bodies of her parents, their eyes now gazing emptily in front of them. She suddenly heard the click of a gun behind her own head._

 _"If you can't even save your own parents, your powers are useless to us," the scientist growled, and the shot went off._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading everyone, and please review! Sorry if the rest of the Avengers are a little OOC, I'm trying my best but if you have any tips please feel free to tell me! As for the next chapter...it might be a little longer because I'm going on a college visit trip and I probably won't bring my computer, so I won't really be able to write. Hope you guys understand! You can always follow the story if you want to get notified when the next chapter goes up!**

 **Okay I'm done with the shameless self promotion lol. Have an awesome day guys, thanks so much for reading!**

 **xx Violet**


	5. Chapter 4

**Greetings from New York City! I'm currently here visiting NYU and I'll be roadtripping up and hitting a lot of the Northeastern colleges. I did actually end up bringing my laptop but I haven't actually had much time to write (actually none at all). Usually I like to wait until I have the next chapter done before I post the previous one, but I felt bad for making everyone wait for so long so here it is! Enjoy and don't forget to review! :)**

* * *

 _THUMP_

Valerie coughed as the wind was knocked out of her as she was slammed onto the floor. She took a moment to catch her breath before taking the hand Natasha was offering and hauled herself up.

It had been two weeks since her late-night conversation with Pietro and Wanda, and Valerie was finally starting to feel at home in the Avengers Tower. The training, the tests, and the playful conversations she carried with her fellow teammates were all starting to become routine, and Valerie felt the happiest she'd been in a very long time.

Since that first night, she and Pietro had started a routine where every Friday night he would come over and watch a film together with her. When Wanda approached Valerie about this with waggling eyebrows, however, Valerie had quickly denied anything happening between them and simply stated that they watched the movies together only because the rest of the team mocked their lack of American movie knowledge. This was somewhat true, considering that just the other day Clint had groaned about how they were worse than Steve when it came to films.

Valerie's relationship with the certain white-haired Sokovian was confusing at best. The two had grown much closer in the two weeks that had passed, and no matter what, Valerie couldn't escape his charm. While Pietro had never done anything that overstepped their boundaries as friends, he did like to throw in a few flirty comments every once in awhile, but Valerie decided that it was just his personality and he did that with most other girls as well. More than once the Valerie had considered talking with Wanda, who was quickly becoming one of the best friends she'd ever had, about her predicament, but had backed out every time. Valerie simply felt too awkward discussing this sort of topic with the brunette, considering it did involve her twin brother.

Pietro in particular wasn't even the most pressing matter to Valerie. Seeing as her ability literally manifested in a shielding ability, Valerie had always been more than guarded towards opening up to people. After what had happened to her parents, Valerie since considered friendships and relationships as not much more than just another liability and just another thing to add onto the list of people that she needed to protect. Valerie was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by Natasha's voice.

"Hello?" Natasha was gazing at Valerie with a slightly disapproving look. "I've called your name three times Valerie. What are you doing, daydreaming about Pietro?" she added teasingly at the end. Valerie flushed red and Natasha smirked good naturedly. The rest of the Avengers weren't exactly oblivious to the chemistry between Valerie and Pietro either, though Natasha was always keener than most.

"Anyways I was just going to say that I think that's enough for today. Just remember you have training with Wanda tomorrow instead of with me." Natasha continued, saving Valerie from further embarrassment.

"Got it!" Valerie secretly wanted to jump for joy. For the past few weeks the team had insisted that she at least learn some basic hand-to-hand combat from Nat, considering Bruce still didn't know the absolute extent of her shielding powers. Therefore, she needed to know at least some basic defense in case her powers faltered one of these days. For Valerie, however, it could honestly be considered a type of torture. She was so used to using her powers at every and any point that having to restrain from throwing up her shield whenever Nat lunged at her was a struggle in and of itself. She was also training with Wanda on honing her powers, though, which she much preferred. She had already learned to form little bubbles of healing energy that she could throw at people which could heal minor cuts and scrapes.

As Valerie grabbed her water bottle from the side of the training room and headed out the door with a wave at Nat, she was surprised to see Wanda standing outside of the doors.

"Hey Wanda," Valerie greeted her with a tired smile.

Wanda grinned back. "You had fun training Natasha?" she asked as she fell into pace beside Valerie as the two made their way to the elevator.

"I always do," sighed Valerie sarcastically. "Honestly I don't get why they make us train without using our powers. Shouldn't we be using them as much as possible to enhance them to the best they can be?"

"I suppose they want to make sure we can survive if somehow our powers are compromised," Wanda mused.

"At I get to train with you tomorrow," Valerie said with a sigh. "Anyways, what were you waiting for me for?" "Oh, Tony wanted me to tell you that he's throwing a party for us tonight." Wanda said casually.

"For us?" Valerie asked, blinking in surprise. "What for?"

"It's supposed to be to celebrate our official allegiance to the Avengers or something like that, although Steve said that he just wanted an excuse to throw a party." Wanda said with a laugh. "Basically it's to show us off to the world.

Valerie frowned slightly. "You don't think such a large event would attract the attention of Hydra, do you?" she asked, slightly apprehensive.

"If they really wanted to find us, Valerie, I'm sure that they already would have." Wanda sighed, looking at Valerie sympathetically. "It's not like we've been hiding exactly either, we've all been out in the city many times too."

Valerie nodded, though she still felt slightly uneasy about the situation. Wanda shrugged. "Even if they were to find us, I don't think that they would have the easiest time getting us unless they wanted to cause a major scene. Don't forget that some of the most powerful superhumans in the world will be attending the party, as well as many civilians."

Valerie rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she finally felt more relaxed. "If it's Tony we're talking about then I'm guessing this party is going to be huge."

Wanda nodded. "Apparently he's inviting just about every important person in the city, as well as people from S.H.I.E.L.D."  
"I thought that collapsed a few years ago," Valerie mused aloud, remembering overhearing something along those lines when she was at the Hydra facility.

"I suppose, but I don't think it ever really died. There's still lots of agents and people who pledge allegiance to that organization." Wanda replied thoughtfully. "How do you know all this?" Valerie asked with joking suspicion as the two reached the floor and stepped out of the elevator.

Wanda shrugged. "You learn a lot by looking through people's heads." She said nonchalantly. Valerie just sighed. She was used to it by now.

* * *

Later that day Valerie stood inside of her closet gazing around in despair. She had tried on just about a hundred dresses but she still didn't know which one to wear to the party, which would be starting in less than an hour.

"I have nothing to wear!" she huffed hopelessly.

"You have a giant closet full of clothes," Wanda sighed from Valerie's bed. "And I told you before the blue and the black one both looked very nice." The brunette was dressed in a red dress with lace trim, and had been ready for hours.

"Yes they looked nice but did they look amazing, or better yet, appropriate?" Valerie fretted. "I've never been to one of Tony's parties-how fancy do you have to dress?"

Wanda rolled her eyes but got up and headed into the closet and rummaged around for a few seconds. "How about this one?" she asked, holding up a pretty lavender chiffon dress. Valerie eyed it for a moment before Wanda shoved it into her. "Try it on, I think you will really like it."

Valerie stepped into the closet and tried on the dress, and as she looked in the mirror and smiled at the color. She'd always had a soft spot for purple. She stepped out of the closet and gave Wanda a twirl.

"So?" Valerie asked with a giggle.

Wanda looked her up and down approvingly. "Considering how you're practically glowing in it I think this is the one!" she said cheerfully.

"You didn't tell me you could predict the future too," Valerie teased as she took a seat on her bed next to Wanda. The brunette just rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"It doesn't take any powers to have good fashion sense." Wanda replied. "Besides, you've been wearing a lot of that color these past two weeks, so I got the feeling that you liked it."

"It was my mother's favorite color for me to wear," Valerie said quietly. "She always said that it brought out the purple in my eyes."

"Well she definitely had good fashion sense as well," Wanda replied firmly, "You look beautiful."

Valerie beamed at her as she brushed away the nostalgic memories thinking of her mother had brought her. She got up to grab some makeup from the bathroom before sitting back down on the bed with Wanda and beginning to apply it with a mirror in hand.

"I've actually wanted to talk to you about something," Wanda began, as she watched Valerie carefully draw on her eyeliner.

"What's up?" Valerie asked as she stuck her tongue out in concentration.

"It's actually about Pietro," Wanda said, and at the mention of the silvery-blonde's name Valerie immediately paused from her task at hand and dropped the eyeliner as she turned to Wanda in surprise and confusion.

"Do you like him?" Wanda asked bluntly, and Valerie blinked in surprise.

"Why are you asking that?" Valerie asked, feigning nonchalance as she started applying her eyeliner again. Although she couldn't see Wanda as her eyes were focused on the mirror, she could feel her eyes burning down at her, and she secretly wondered if she was reading her mind.

"The others aren't blind, Valerie, and especially not me considering he's my brother and you're my friend. You can't pretend nothing is happening forever."

"We're just friends," Valerie said firmly, focusing all too much on applying her mascara and avoiding Wanda's eyes.

"And me and Vision are siblings," Wanda scoffed.

"Oh yes, speaking of, how are things with you two?" Valerie asked, happy to turn the tables back on Wanda.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Wanda said quickly, and Valerie looked at her with a knowing smirk

. "My point exactly," she said triumphantly as she turned back to her makeup. Wanda sighed.

"That is different, although I know that Vision likes me, I genuinely do not know how I feel about him yet. It's too soon for me, and there's also the added fact that...he's not human." Wanda spoke the last part of her sentence with a wry smile. Valerie gave a nod of slight agreement. "On the other hand," Wanda continued, "You and Pietro obviously like one another. Even someone who was blind could tell just by listening to you two talk. I mean face it, you guys spend every Friday cuddling together over a movie, he walks you to all your training sessions, he went with you to visit the art museum-this is Pietro we are talking about I'm sure even you know that he hates art. Even before he became enhanced he never had the patience for appreciating it. He only went because he wanted to get closer with you."

Valerie froze as she was hit with the onslaught Wanda was throwing at her. "Your brother just likes to flirt," Valerie sighed as she regained her composure. "He would do this to any other girl if he had the chance."

"You're right," Wanda agreed, to Valerie's surprise. "My brother has always liked playing around with girls, and with his good looks it was never hard for him back in Sokovia. But this is exactly why this kind of thing is out of character for him. If you were just any other girl he would have asked you out the first day he met you. The fact that he's just as nervous as you are shows how much he actually likes you and how he sees you as not just another one of his conquests."

"Pietro? Nervous?" Valerie scoffed. "He obviously just hasn't asked me out yet because he doesn't want to, Wanda."

Wanda huffed with annoyance. "I can't help you anymore if you don't want to be helped," she stated. "I'm telling you that you both like each other a lot, but ultimately if either of you want to make a move then that's all you guys. Personally, I think it would be great if you two became a couple, it's about time my brother found a girl he wants to be serious with."

Valerie sighed, realizing that she had a lot to think about, but that now wasn't the time. "You haven't been looking through either of our heads now, have you?" she asked accusingly.

Wanda shrugged. "I never do intentionally, though sometimes your thoughts are so loud I can't help but overhear. Besides, I don't need to. I know the two of you well enough and I can put two and two together just fine with my eyes and ears without digging into anyone's mind." Valerie narrowed her eyes at her but Wanda just nonchalantly hopped off of the bed. "Anyways, are you ready yet? The party starts in five minutes and it would be bad for us to be late since this is kind of our party."

Valerie rolled her eyes as she put the finishing touches to her outfit, which included a pair of nude heels and a couple of rings and bracelets, before the two girls headed out of her room to the party below.

* * *

Valerie slid onto a bar stool as she ordered a martini, sighing as she finally was able to get some peace. For the past two hours, she had been dragged into innumerable introductions and conversations with agents and mayors and political figures and many, many more. Though she had been honored that all these people had come to this party and showed so much interest for her-well, her Wanda, and Pietro-it had become exhausting after around the 20th person she had shook hands with, much less the 50th. When she finally caught a break she swiftly slid away from the commotion before Tony or Steve could drag her into yet another encounter with someone she care a single bit about.

Someone sat down in the stool next to her yet Valerie barely even noticed, being so engrossed in her thoughts and her drinks, that she flinched when she felt a hand under her chin tilting it up. Her eyes flashed as she looked at who it was, but relaxed when she realized it was only Pietro, who was chuckling lightly.

"You should look happier, after all this party is all for us," he said with such an effortless grin that Valerie couldn't help but crack a smile back.

"It's not that I'm unhappy, I'm just overwhelmed," Valerie said with a sigh. "These people aren't interested in me, they're interested in the Avengers and in Tony and in the whole business. On top of that, the things they want to talk about and the questions they ask get repetitive and annoying." Valerie finished with a huff, which only made Pietro's grin grow wider.

"What?" she sniffed, glancing at him.

"Nothing," he said, though he was still smiling. "You're just cute when you get frustrated."

Valerie rolled her eyes, though secretly she thought back to the conversation she had had earlier with Wanda. Was everything she had said true? Was Pietro just playing with her or did he genuinely like her?

"Anyways, aren't you a little young to be drinking that?" Pietro asked, motioning to the drink that Valerie was sipping on.

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "I'm nineteen you know, and in Paris I had friends that drank when they were only 15. Besides," Valerie added with a sigh, "With this party, I think that have a pretty good excuse." She finished the rest of her drink in one gulp to accentuate her point.

"In that case, how about we play a game?" Pietro asked suddenly with a playful smile tugging at the edges at his mouth. Valerie found it hard to resist that smile, but narrowed her eyes and raised her chin haughtily.

"What kind of game?" Valerie asked.

"A drinking game of course, considering you don't have a problem with alcohol, am I right?"  
Valerie narrowed her eyes, never one to back down from a challenge.

"Fine, tell me the rules."

Pietro grinned with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Simple. Every time some bimbo tries to cozy up to Stark over there I take a shot. Every time Pepper gives him the death glare and he backs off, you take one." Pietro said simply, nodding towards where Tony was standing as he ordered a round of shots. Sure enough, there was a woman, very scantily dressed, that was hanging off of his arm. Valerie narrowed her eyes at the sight before turning back to Pietro.

"You're on," Valerie said, and Pietro smirked winningly as he raised a glass and took the first shot without breaking eye contact with her.

* * *

 **Uh oh, what will a little alcohol add to Valerie and Pietro's relationship? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out! :) I predict it will be out by Wednesday, though if I finish earlier and I'm happy with it I'll definitely post it earlier! In the mean time, hope you all have a great week! Thanks so much for reading and please review review review!**

 **xxViolet**


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